


Five times Garrett Laughlin hated Simon Spier and the million times after he loved him

by angelica_barnes



Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Falling Out of Love, Goodbyes, Multi, Pining, Regret, and then head over heels back in again, garrett is the best friend in the whole world, implied anorexia, implied depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 04:03:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14584533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelica_barnes/pseuds/angelica_barnes
Summary: what the title says.basically, bram is pining and simon is oblivious and garrett is very very protective and cal didn't do anything wrong he just took someone else's soulmate but everything works out in the end. as always.





	Five times Garrett Laughlin hated Simon Spier and the million times after he loved him

**Author's Note:**

> (also known as the fic where bram is in love and is crushed by simon being in like with cal price)

It isn’t that hard to figure out, really, Bram’s crush on Simon. It’s blatantly obvious, even from the beginning, just how whipped he is by the blonde boy, and Garrett certainly hasn’t missed it.

“So?” He says, as soon as Bram settles himself in Garrett’s passenger seat. “How’s Spier?”

Bram’s cheeks pinken and he ducks his head with a soft smile, “I don’t know. Fine, I guess? Ask him yourself.”

Garrett just smirks. “Dude, you have it so bad.”

Bram lets his head fall back against the seat and he groans, “I know.”

 

 

**1.** _Leah_

 

It doesn’t taken long for Bram to come out on creeksecrets as Blue, or for the mysterious Jacques to start messaging him. Garrett is the first one Bram tells about their emails, and also the first to know that Bram is pretty positive Jacques is Simon, and also the first to know that Bram  _ wants _ it to be Simon, and wants it badly.

But, of course, things aren’t looking up for Garrett Laughlin’s best friend, and so at lunch Simon opens his mouth in a fit of anger and spits that Bram should just ask Leah Burke out if he likes her so much.

Bram blushes through the whole exchange, because he’s quiet enough that Simon doesn’t pay much attention to him, but then when they’re alone in the locker room later, he finally lets the mask fall for a moment.

“He can’t be Jacques,” Bram whispers, toying with the shirt in his hands, and Garrett looks up at him. “He thinks I like Leah.  _ Leah _ . Leah  _ Burke _ .”

Then he puts his face in his hands and collapses down onto the bench behind him, “I don’t stand a chance. He’s straight, just like the rest of them.”

Garrett opens his mouth to push back, to deny it, to give his friend hope, but then Bram mumbles, “Jacques is probably a joke, anyway.”

That’s when Garrett wraps his arms around his best friend and whispering comforting things into his hair and decides that he really, truly, absolutely  _ hates  _ Simon Spier.

 

**2.** _Elliot Smith_

 

“Why hasn’t he called me?”

Garrett sighs. Dealing with a panicked Bram Greenfeld is never fun, but it’s one of his duties, and he’ll carry through with it proudly.

“Probably because he hasn’t found your note.”

Bram shakes his head frantically and continues his pacing. “No, no. He probably knows it’s me and doesn’t want me, or maybe my note creeped him out, or maybe he thinks I’m a coward, or -”

“Bram,” Garrett interrupts. “He loves you. He’s literally in love with Blue, he’s told you a million times, and you’re Blue. If he’d found your note, he’d’ve call you.”

Bram sighs, collapsing back onto his bed and rubbing his eyes with his fists. “I dunno. He probably just doesn’t like me.”

Garrett lies down next to his best friend and says softly, “Do you have any logical reasons, besides being blind to the obvious because he’s your crush, that he wouldn’t call you if he’d found the note?”

Bram is silent for a moment, and then he turns and looks Garrett straight in the eye, his own wide and brown and sad.

“Yes.”

And he doesn’t elaborate, but Garrett knows well enough, and for the second time, he feels the burning feeling in his chest that proves just how much he really, truly, absolutely  _ hates _ Simon Spier.

 

 

**3.** _The Ferris Wheel_

 

When Garrett sees Simon’s post, he flies down the stairs from his room and runs out the door, jumping into car and driving off without so much as a goodbye to his family. He gets to Bram’s five minutes later, and knocks on the door as loudly as he can.

Bram opens up.

“Come on!” Garrett shouts in his face, ignoring the way Bram flinches and doesn’t look him in the eye. “Spier’s waiting for you at the ferris wheel!”

Bram shakes his head. Garrett sighs. “Dude, he wants to meet you.”

Still, Bram doesn’t make a move forward and so Garrett grabs his wrist and pulls him forward, but Bram wrenches away and almost shuts the door on himself in the process, but Garett manages to wedge his foot in before it can close completely.

“Greenfeld -”

A teardrop falls onto Garrett’s sneaker, and suddenly all his excitement dissipates.

“... what’s wrong?”

Bram doesn’t open the door, but he trembles as he takes in a breath and his voice is even softer than usual and broken, broken, he sounds so broken.

“He’s not waiting for me.”

Garrett waits, though he wants to protest, and soon enough Bram continues with a shuddery sigh.

“He’s waiting for Cal Price.”

Garrett doesn’t even ask. Instead he gently pushes open the door and wraps his best friend in his arms, and slowly lowers them both to the floor and Bram really starts to lose it, crying and sobbing uncontrollably, and Garrett shushes him, “Shh, shh, okay, okay, we won’t go, we won’t go…”

For the third time, Garrett grits his teeth and narrows his eyes and thinks about just how much he really, truly, absolutely  _ hates _ Simon Spier.

 

 

**4.** _"_ _I love the way you smile like you don’t realize you’re doing it."_

 

A little while after the ferris wheel, Bram is quieter at their lunch table. Whenever he’s asked about it, Garrett answers for him, that things have been rough at home lately. It’s a lie, but neither cares, not when Bram is still so endlessly in love with Simon and Garrett is still steaming at the same boy.

Simon remains perfectly oblivious. His eyes are a little dimmer sometimes, because he’s tired, and sadder, but they’re all careful not to mention Blue, or anything like that. Bram wants to though, and Garrett knows it.

He doesn’t, however, and Simon turns and smiles with twinkling eyes at Bram, and the darker boy blushes down at his food, ducking his head, and Garrett grits his teeth.

How dare he. How  _ dare _ he!

Simon made Bram’s life a mess. Claimed to love him, but then only seemed to love Cal Price. Made him cry. Made him worry. Made him doubt everything.

For the fourth time, Garrett is sure that he really, truly, absolutely  _ hates _ Simon Spier.

 

 

**5.** _Cal Price_

 

A few months after the whole ferris wheel incident, Simon is smiling widely again, but Bram is slowly sinking into an unattainable state. He doesn’t talk, not unless forced, and his grades are slipping - he has B’s and C’s now, instead of A’s. He doesn’t eat, at least not everyday, but whenever Garrett asks him about it, he just shrugs and walks away.

He’s not sleeping, either.

But Simon and the rest of the world remain oblivious. At least, until -

It’s loud, and open, and part of Garrett is glad for it and the other half wants desperately to quiet the whole thing for his best friend, who’s already suffering enough.

Cal Price stands up on a lunch table and opens his arms and shouts above all the ruckus, “Simon Spier!”

Every pair of eyes in the room turns to look at him, the blue-eyed, golden-haired beautiful boy of Simon’s dreams, the one he always wanted to be Blue even though he isn’t. Including Bram, who suddenly grasps Garrett’s fingers so tightly and he’s trembling.

Garrett turns and sees Bram’s face, scared and wide-eyed and quivering lips, and squeezes his hand under the table.

But no small amount of comfort could fix this.

Because Garrett has always really, truly, absolutely  _ hated _ Simon Spier, and maybe this is karma but Simon just stands up with twinkling eyes and a dopey smile and a rosy blush and Cal grins back, “Will you go out with me?”

And then there’s a deep kiss and so many cheers that nobody hears the sob rip its way out of Bram’s throat and nobody sees him stand abruptly and run out of the cafeteria and nobody cares to go after him.

No one except Garrett.

He never does find his best friend that day - Simon does. Finds him scrolling through all his and Jacques’ emails, but Bram hides his phone before Simon can see and takes Simon’s offered hand and stands up and gives a weak smile and then lets Simon walk him to Garrett’s car, and his thank you comes out broken and his eyes are glistening and his cheeks tearstained. And Simon wraps his arms around Garrett’s best friend and holds him as tightly as he can, and Bram whispers in his ear so quietly Garrett almost doesn’t catch what he’s not meant to hear.

“I love you, Jacques. I hope he makes you really, really happy.”

And Simon doesn’t say the words back, because Blue is something else, is a myth now, is a long gone conspiracy to make Simon’s life hell, is gone with the wind just like Simon’s love for him, and so now he just smiles sadly and lets go of Bram and Bram lets go of Simon.

Bram turns to Garrett then. His smile is happier than it has been for a while, but they all know it isn’t as bright as it should be, nor is it real.

“I’m ready to go home now.”

And Garrett wants to tell him no. To tell Simon that he hates him. To tell them that no one’s love story works out that way and that they’re magic and that they’re meant for each other.

But he doesn’t. Instead, he puts the car in drive and lets his eyes wander to Simon waving in the rearview mirror, and Bram is silent the whole way home, and spends the rest of the year at soccer practices instead of lunch and getting his grades up and avoiding Simon and Cal and he eats more and in the end, they graduate.

And in the end, Bram says goodbye to Simon, and Garrett never tells him that that day he’d driven him home, he’d actually been driving Bram away from the only person who had ever really been so to him.

 

 

**_Five years later…_ **

 

**1.** _Luna Greenfeld-Spier_

 

Garrett scratches his stubble. He really should’ve shaved this morning, but Leah was gone with a kiss to his cheek and he had to drive their daughter, Emma, to school that morning. And now he’s here, grocery shopping and probably forgetting most of the things his wife put on the written list in his hand.

Suddenly he hears screeching and a man’s yelling and looks up to see a little girl running towards him, curly white-blonde hair flying out behind her, and a black man chasing her, looking panicked and exhausted. Finally he catches her, scooping her up in his arms, and looks up with a smile and meets Garrett’s eyes with his soft, brown ones.

“Bram?”

Bram’s smile drops in shock, and then comes back wider, and he reaches out to hug Garrett. “Hey, man! It’s been forever.”

Garrett hugs him back. He doesn’t miss the cold feeling of metal touching his back through his shirt, and nods to the ring on Bram’s left hand.

“Yeah, dude, sure has been. Who’s this? And who’s that for?”

Bram looks a little surprised, smile faltering, but it’s in that way that makes Garrett think he’s hiding something.

“Oh. This is Luna, my daughter. And the ring’s because I’m married to -”

“Hey, Bram?” Someone shouts from nearby. “Did you catch Luna?”

And around the corner comes one Simon Spier, still moon-gray eyes and wistful smiles and faint blush, and his eyes widen as he catches sight of Garrett.

“Garrett! Bram, hon, you didn’t tell me -”

Garrett butts in. “Simon? You - you married Simon?”

Bram blushes and looks at his feet as Simon’s hand finds his shoulder, “Uh, yeah. We found each other in college, and what can I say? Old habits die hard.”

Simon smiles and kisses his husband’s cheek, and Bram smiles. Garrett watches fondly, and then whispers, “Yeah.”

And Luna waves to him and Simon grins and Bram looks happy and they’re all laughing, laughing, laughing, and for the first time in his life, Garrett decides that he really, truly, absolutely  _ loves _ Simon Spier.

But not nearly as much as Bram does, of course.

 

 


End file.
